On Monday morning Nigerian time, social media was ablaze with the name of Gabe Nnamdi Vincent trending under the NBA category.
Aside from being the first Nigerian international to play in the NBA finals, the D’Tigers guard had scored 23 points to help the visiting Miami Heat record a 111-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, levelling the NBA Finals at one win apiece.
Speaking on NBA TV after their big win, Vincent told former Heat star and NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal that he was not listening to basketball pundits and viewers writing off Miami after its Game 1 loss.
“I speak for my whole team when I say we don’t give a damn, he said. “We just want to get 4 wins. We don’t give a damn about none of the other stuff.”
However, Vincent remained grateful for the opportunity and with three more wins to a first NBA title, the 26-year-old said he and his teammates were taking nothing for granted.
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“It feels great to be in the Finals and to have these opportunities that many people play seasons — not seasons, careers — in this league and never got an opportunity to do so,” Vincent said. ” I am just happy to be here and just trying to help my team get a win.”
“It would mean the world, especially after the season we have had for this group,” he said when asked what it would mean to win the title. “I want nothing more for this group and for our stars that have been battling.”
Vincent’s head coach Erik Spoelstra said the 26-year-old has been grossly underrated, telling the media the Nigerian international deserves more headlines and plaudits than he has received thus far.
“National media, please look that up because you’re not following — Nnamdi. He’s a special player,” Erik Spoelstra said about Gabe Vincent.
“He’s a special guy, he really is. … He was a gunslinger, a two guard. We wanted to develop him into a combo guard, somebody who could organize us and be an irritant defensively,” Spoelstra added. “I think that’s the toughest thing to do in this league, turn a (shooting guard) into a (point guard). And he openly embraced that.”.